Loom having means for the formation of selvedges



March 7,1 1967 E. NEUMANN '7 3,307,593

LOOM HAVING MEANS FOR THE FORMATION OF SELVEDGES Filed June 25, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .DVVENT'b/l ERIC H NEu/vmmv ATTDRNE Y1 March 7, 1967 E. NEUMANN LOOM HAVING MEANS FOR THE FORMATION OF SELVEDGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 25, 1963 a m N E v ER ic H IVQu WQQQ...

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United States Patent Claims. 61. 139-122 The invention relates to looms wherein the weft thread or yarn is inserted in the shed from stationary bobbins disposed externally of the cloth, with the aid of needles or weft-carrying belts, gripper shuttles or other inserting means. The invention relates more particularly to a loom having a delivery member and a drawing member to which opposite movements are imparted.

It is a special feature of such systems for inserting the weft that they generally require special consolidation of the selvedge so as to prevent the lateral displacement of the warp threads of the selvedge and so as to give the selvedge the necessary degree of solidity required for subsequent processing. To this end, an auxiliary thread derived from a bobbin disposed externally of the cloth is inserted in the shed in the form of a loop and is incorporated in the cloth, the length of the loop corresponding to the width of the selvedge to be consolidated.

Known mechanical devices use, for this purpose, curved needles or levers having an eyelet penetrating into the open shed due to a pivoting movement in a horizontal plane and displacing the auxiliary thread into a position wherein it is gripped in known manner by a plunger or a retaining needle carrying out a vertical movement, and is retained at the fell of the cloth, in the form of a loop, until an instant immediately preceding the beating up of the weft thread. Now, devices comprising a lever or an insertion needle carrying out a horizontal movement for the insertion of the auxiliary yarn in the shed exhibit numerous disadvantages. The movement in the horizontal plane requires that the bobbin storing the auxiliary yarn should be disposed before the reed in order that the delivery direction of the yarn may coincide with the direction of movement of the inserting lever. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a special stop-motion device for interrupting the weaving operation when the yarn breaks. Furthermore, with each heating up of the weft, the inserting lever is required to pivot to a position rearwardly of the fell so as to move out of range of the reed. The result is an extremely long travel of the point at which the eyelet is positioned and this has the disadvantage that only a small fraction of the travel of the lever can be utilized for the penetration into the shed and the greater portion of the travel of the lever is necessary for clearing said lever off the reed during the beating up of the weft thread.

The invention obviates the aforesaid disadvantages by supplying a loom equipped with a device for the formation of selvedges which is especially simple and which operates in a particularly reliable manner so as to permit functioning of the loom at high speeds.

The loom equipped in known manner with a device for the formation of solid selvedges on cloths wherein the weft thread is inserted in the shed from stationary bobbins disposed externally of the fabric and wherein an auxiliary thread is inserted for consolidation of. the sel vedge, notably a loom having a delivery member and a drawing member moving in opposite directions, is characterized according to the invention in that the curved eyelet needle is mounted in such manner as to be able to travel parallel to the warp threads and to pivot transversely there-of in such manner as to penetrate into the "ice open shed by a helical movement whilst submitting the auxiliary yarn for the formation of the loop.

Advantageously, the curved eyelet needle is disposed on a needle-carrier adapted to be displaced axially and to rotate about its axis so as to produce the helical movement, the said needle-carrying shaft being disposed preferably parallel to the warp threads. The helical movement of the needle-carrying shaft can be produced by a control cam which is advantageously capable of being adjusted in the axial direction of the needle-carrying shaft. It is advantageous to dispose the control mechanism for the helical movement of the eyelet needle in a closed housing and to mount and secure all the eyelet needle controlling members on a plate.

According to a further feature of the invention, the mechanism for the control of the eyelet needle movement and the mechanism for the control of the movement of a retaining needle co-operating wtih the eyelet needle are disposed in one and the same casing and are driven in common. The selvedge formation device then advantageously has a median plate carrying, on one side, the

mechanism for the control of the eyelet needle movement and, on the other side, the mechanism for con trolling the movement of the retaining needle, protection being provided by removable lateral caps by means of which all the mechanisms for control of the selvedge forming device, for maintenance and supervision are made accessible. The selvedge forming device is preferably mounted in adjustable manner on the breast-beam of the loom and is advantageously controlled by a control shaft mounted in the breast-beam or on the breast-beam.

The invention has the advantage inter alia that the whole movement of the eyelet needle is utilized for the insertion of the auxiliary yarn in the shed. This diminishes the stressing of the yarn and this is an advantageous factor in respect of the work of the machine. A further advantage resides in the fact that the auxiliary yarn supplied from a storage bobbin behind the reed is able to travel through a drop wire of a usual warp detecting device in such manner that the supervising of the yarn does not require the provision of any supplementary device.

The invention will be described in detail in the following text with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the selvedge formation device, after removal of the lateral caps as seen on the side of the control of the eyelet needle;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device as seen on the side of control of the retaining needle.

FIG. 3 shows the functioning of the retaining needle;

FIGS. 4 and 5 shows the co-operation of the eyelet needle with the retaining needle during the insertion of the auxiliary yarn;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the position of the eyelet needle and of the retaining needle during the beating-up of the auxiliary selvedge yarn together with the weft thread.

FIGURES 2, 3 and 6 show a gear 44 which is driven by any suitable mechanism of the loom (not shown) and which actuates all the movable members of a selvedge forming device carried by a central plate 3 enclosed in a housing 3 which is constituted by two removable caps secured on either side of the plate. The mechanism for the control of the eyelet needle 6 is disposed on one side of the central plate 3' whereas the mechanism for the control of the retaining needle 14 is disposed on the other side of the plate. The removal of the caps provides easy access to all the elements of the device for the formation of the selvedge, for supervising and maintenance. A gear 24 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 5) meshes with the gear 44 and is rotatably driven thereby. The gear 24 is secured upon a shaft 31 which carries a crank 32. The crank 32 has a pin 33 located in a vertical guideway 35 integral with a plate 34 which is secured to the slide 4. The slide 4 is mounted for horizontal reciprocal movement in a slot 36 formed in a stationary plate 37 connected to the central plate 3 by spacers 38, so as to provide ample room for the crank mechanism 32. The shaft 5 of the needle 6 is carried in bearings 39 of the slide 4 and its rear end has the shape of a bent arm 5 which is resiliently urged against a cam-shaped control ramp 7 by a spring 8. One end of the spring 8 is attached to a supporting arm 9 of the hearing 39 while its other end is attached to the outer surface of a ring 10 secured to the shaft 5. The ring 10 is located in a notch 40 provided in the slide 4, so that it can not move longitudinally relatively thereto. Thus the shaft 5 is reciprocated along with the slide 4 and is rotated at the same time by the action of the cam 7. The bent arm 5 is resiliently urged against the cam 7 by the spring 8. An auxiliary thread or yarn 12 passes through the eyelet 6' of the needle 6. The auxiliary thread 12 is supplied from a storage bobbin 11 and travels through a drop wire 20 of -a warp detecting device 21 which operates in combination with a stop motion device operable to stop the loom upon breakage of thread 12 or a wrap thread. Thereafter thread 12 travels through the reed 18 in order to reach the eyelet 6 of the needle 6. The point of the retaining needle 14 carried by the arm 22 travels along a path indicated at 17 in FIGS. 3 and 4, which is the result of the oscillating movement of a lever 23 about its pivot 42 and the oscillating movement of another lever 29 about its pivot 29a. The lever 23 is actuated by a connecting rod 25 mounted upon an eccentric 41 connected to the gear 24. One end of the arm 22 is connected to the free end of the lever 23 by a pin 22a. The lever 29 carried a cam follower 28 which is pressed by gravity against a cam 27 connected to the gear 26 meshing with the gear 24. A block 30 which is slidably mounted in a longitudinal slot 22b of the lever 22, is pivoted upon the free end of the lever 29.

The retaining needle 14- moves as follows:

When the reed 18 bears against the fell 16 of the cloth (FIGS. 6 and 7), the point of the needle is located above the fabric 15. When the reed moves away from the fell (FIGS. 4 and 5), the point of the needle first moves substantially parallel to the warp threads, and then it moves downwardly so as to pass behind the auxiliary thread 12 which has just been introduced between the upper and lower webs of the shed by the eyelet needle 6. The retaining needle 14 moves back to the fell substantially simultaneously with the return movement of the reed and simultaneously with the return movement of the eyelet needle 6 back to its initial position through a helical movement which is the reverse of its auxiliary thread inserting movement. During its back movement the retaining needle 14 first remains in a lower position in order to drive the loop of the auxiliary thread and then quite near the fell, it moves back to its initial position above the fabric.

According to FIGS. 3 to 7, during a reciprocating movement of the slide 4, the cranked end 5 of the needle slides along the ramp 7, thus imparting to the needle-carrying shaft 5 a substantially helical movement which is orientated in its axial direction parallel to the warp threads 13.

The ramp 7 is designed in such manner that the eyelet needle 6 secured on the needle-carrying shaft 5 externally of the housing 3 penetrates, during its movement in the direction of the reed 18 with a helical movement into the open shed. Due to this movement, the eyelet needle 6 carries the auxiliary thread 12 through its eyelet 6 into a position wherein it is retained by the needle 14 during the dipping movement thereof. Then, both the eyelet needle 6 and the retaining needle 14 return in the direction of the fabric to a point to the rear of the fill 16, so as to permit the beating-up of the yarn 12 shaped in loop form, together with the inserted weft thread 19. During this travel out of the shed, the eyelet needle 6' again carries out a helical movement corresponding to the shape of the ramp 7, whereas the point 14' of the retaining needle is displaced on the second section of the path 17. Depending on the nature and density of the cloth, it may be advantageous to consolidate the selvedge by means of the auxiliary yarn 12, at a rate of one weft insertion for only two or three threads. To this end, it is possible to provide in the housing 3 a control means (no-t shown) imparting to the slide 4 as well as to the needle-carrying shaft 5 and to the eyelet needle 6 a temporarily interrupted reciprocating movement.

What I claim is:

1. In a loom wherein sheds are formed in a warp to receive weft threads and auxiliary thread loops, a selvedge forming device comprising a curved eyelet needle carrying said auxiliary thread, a shaft carrying said needle and means actuating said shaft for moving said needle parallel to the warp and pivoting it transversely thereto to cause said needle to penetrate into the shed by this helical movement and to present said auxiliary thread thereto, said means comprising a ramp forming a cam which is adjustable in the axial direction of the needle-carrying shaft.

2. A loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ramp forming a cam has a control track which is open towards one side.

3. A loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein said curved eyelet needle carrying shaft has a cranked end adapted to engage said ramp, and comprising a spring urging said shaft angularly about its axis in the rotational direction which urges said cranked end against said ramp.

4. In a loom wherein a shed is formed in a warp to receive weft threads and auxiliary thread loops, a device for the formation of selvedges, comprising a curved eyelet needle carrying said auxiliary thread and means connected With said needle for moving it parallel to the warp and pivoting it about an axis parallel to the warp, further comprising a retaining needle, a mechanism for controlling the movement of the retaining needle, a central plate carrying said means and said mechanism, and removable lateral caps enclosing said central plate, said means being disposed on one side of the central plate whereas the mechanism for the control of the movement of the retaining needle is disposed on the other side of the said plate, protection being provided by said removable lateral caps.

5. In a loom wherein sheds are formed in a warp to receive weft threads and auxiliary thread loops, a selvedge forming device comprising a retaining needle receiving the auxiliary thread, an arm carrying said retaining needle and having an elongated slot, a swingable lever having an end engaging said slot, a pin carried by an end of said arm, another swingable lever connected with said pin, and means actuating said swingable levers to move said retaining needle for engaging and retaining said auxiliary thread in the shed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,976,892 3/1961 Mormin 139*126 FOREIGN PATENTS 594,472 9/ 1925 France. 1,231,800 4/ 1960 France. 1,242,372 8/1960 France.

214,198 9/ 1924- Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, DONALD W. PARKER,

Examiners, H. S. JAUDON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A LOOM WHEREIN SHEDS ARE FORMED IN A WARP TO RECEIVE WEFT THREADS AND AUXILIARY THREAD LOOPS, A SELVEDGE FORMING DEVICE COMPRISING A CURVED EYELET NEEDLE CARRYING SAID AUXILIARY THREAD, A SHAFT CARRYING SAID NEEDLE AND MEANS ACTUATING SAID SHAFT FOR MOVING SAID NEEDLE PARALLEL TO THE WARP AND PIVOTING IT TRANSVERSELY THERETO TO CAUSE SAID NEEDLE TO PENETRATE INTO THE SHED BY THIS HELICAL MOVE- 